Tesla Motors Club

I've long been a lending participant over at Kiva, one of my favorite 'charities'. Kiva is a microfinance group that takes lending funds from folks like you and me and provides it interest-free to on-the-ground partners in impoverished areas who then manage loans to local people. The end result is that those folks are able to obtain funding for various projects at better terms than they'd get through a bank (if there's even such a thing as a bank where they're at, and if they could even hope to be approved).

You can participate in loans in increments of $25, making it simple to get started without deciding to make a significant financial commitment. At the end of a loan, you can either take your money back or re-lend it. (Defaults are very rare-- < 2%.) It thus makes a good 'keeps on giving' charity as you can periodically put in small amounts and keep re-lending as time goes on.

I've been lending on Kiva for over a decade now, and have participated in 113 loans. My default rate has been 1.18%. As I've now been participating in the TMC community for several years, I thought it time to see if there's interest here in starting our own Kiva team. In general the TMC membership tends to include relatively fortunate folk (if we own or are preparing to own $35k+ vehicles!), and I think we can make a significant impact if we choose to do so. And on a humorous note, you fund your chosen loans via PayPal, so there's a bit of a Musk connection.

Anyway, About Kiva, Charity Navigator 4-star rating, and a TMC team invite link.

TMC Mods/Owners - If you are not comfortable with an unofficial TMC team, let me know and I can kill it.